NCER Comments:
Several COVID-19 vaccines are currently in development and being tested on a small number of humans. Janssen Pharmaceutical (Johnson & Johnson), Moderna and the University of Pittsburgh have chosen to use fetal cell lines obtained from abortions to create their vaccines, while Sanofi-Pasteur and Inovio are utilizing ethical sources such as insects and donated blood as their vaccine substrate. Using cells from aborted fetuses is unethical because it denies the value of human life at every stage of development. Fetal tissue research from induced abortions treats the unborn child as an object valued only for its parts. Best case scenario, vaccines might be available within a year. Many people will refuse to receive fetal cell line vaccines as conscientious objectors.
Another Pharmaceutical Company – Johnson & Johnson Using Aborted Fetal Cells to Develop Covid-19 Vaccine
For Immediate Release: March 31, 2020
(Clearwater, FL) For the second time in less than a week, Children of God for Life is calling out the pharmaceutical industry for the use of aborted fetal cell lines in potential Covid-19 vaccines.
On March 25th, the organization exposed Moderna’s use of the aborted fetal cell line HEK 293 and the morally produced version by Sanofi Pasteur. This time it’s Janssen Pharmaceutical, owned by Johnson and Johnson, that is using their PER C6 Ad5 technology, derived from an aborted baby’s retinal tissue. Dr. Alex van der Eb revealed the information on this abortion at FDA hearings in 2001:
“So I isolated retina from a fetus, from a healthy fetus as far as could be seen, of 18 weeks old. There was nothing special with a family history or the pregnancy was completely normal up to the 18 weeks, and it turned out to be a socially indicated abortus – abortus provocatus, and that was simply because the woman wanted to get rid of the fetus… what was written down was unknown father, and that was, in fact, the reason why the abortion was requested.”
Adding insult to injury, Dr. van der Eb went on to admit: “PER C6 was made just for pharmaceutical manufacturing of adenovirus vectors… And then pharmaceutical industry standard. I realize that this sounds a bit commercial, but PER C6 were made for that particular purpose.”
Not only are there moral problems with using aborted fetal cells, but the PER C6 Ad5 technology also has safety concerns that have been raised with the FDA as well.
“Residual DNA in vaccines derived from tumorigenic cells, including those transformed by Ad5, can pose potential risks to the vaccine recipient in two respects: oncogenicity and infectivity. Each of these biological properties must be considered and evaluated for each cell substrate.”
Vinnedge noted there is not one FDA-approved vaccine in the US using this cell line, though several did take interest when it was announced in 2001. One of those companies was Merck who tried the cell line in a new HIV vaccine but ended the project in 2007 when the vaccine proved to be ineffective.
“This is about as irresponsible as the industry can get”, stated Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director of Children of God for Life. “We have a worldwide pandemic where millions of people are in need of treatment and prevention of disease. Yet Johnson and Johnson is choosing to produce a vaccine that a large number of people of good conscience will refuse due to the aborted fetal cells!”
In their own Code of Business Conduct, Johnson & Johnson states that “We believe acting ethically and responsibly is not only the right thing to do, but also the right thing to do for our business. Our Johnson & Johnson Code of Business Conduct ensures that we hold ourselves and how we do business to a high standard, allowing us to fulfill our obligations to the many stakeholders we serve.”
But their use of aborted fetal material in consumer medicines is far from the high ethical standards or concern for their customers and stakeholders whom they are claiming to serve. The irony of what they are doing in using aborted fetal cell lines is not lost to the casual observer.
“How despicable that a company whose success was largely acquired from its’ products for living babies is trying to capitalize on the remains of a deliberately murdered one”, she added.
In light of the fact that the US just signed a $450 million dollar contract with Johnson & Johnson to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, we are asking the public to contact President Trump who has denied federal funding for aborted fetal research.
Contact form: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/